Worshippers gather and seem to celebrate around a sky-clad (nude) Jina and monk at top center. Flanking these figures are two searted drummers. In the lower register men on horseback and elephant look up to them as the ride by and raise their weapons in battle. A trumpeter sounds his instrument in the bottom left.

Subject Matter

In the Jain religion, book production reflects the integral relationship among the laity, monastic community, and the Jina, or enlightened Jain teacher. The dedication of sacred books for shrines is required of devotees, and while commissioning a book fulfills the lay obligation of charity, beholding a book helps the individual achieve the proper mental state for spiritual guidance. It was customary for a lay donor to commission a copy of a text for presentation to his spiritual teacher and ultimately to the temple library.